


Silent·In·The·Trees

by Rushar



Category: Twenty One Pilots
Genre: Angst, Anxiety, Blurryface, Death, Depression, Faint Joshler, Forest - song, Mr Misty-Eyed, Trees - song, vent fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-28
Updated: 2017-02-28
Packaged: 2018-09-27 11:01:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,420
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10016864
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rushar/pseuds/Rushar
Summary: -Trees hold the secrets that no one else can keep-





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [pickura](https://archiveofourown.org/users/pickura/gifts).



"Speak to me."

The young man shook his head, eyes fixed firmly on the next branch, contemplating reaching for it. His best friend was leaning out of the treehouse that they had built together as kids. His hair was a fluorescent greeny-yellow and his eyes were glass shards, smooth yet piercing as they watched every movement Tyler made.

"Tyler I know you're mad but I don't want you to fall. Ty, please just say something."

Tyler reached up for the next branch of the twisting maple tree, hauling himself up to sit just a yard higher, a yard farther away from Josh. He was several stories off the ground at this point, and a fall would more than likely kill him. Tyler was a thinker, yes, but at times he made impulsive decisions that ended up with him getting hurt, like right now. Josh was frantic but trying to stay calm on the outside, for both his and Tyler's sake. "I didn't mean it."

"You said he's not real," Tyler spoke coldly, with a slide to his voice that wasn't normally present. "But Mr. Misty-eyed, I don't see you rushing to claim your other side as being fake."

"He's not, I know Blurry and Misty-eyed are both real, I just don't know what to do anymore," Josh could only watch helplessly as Tyler swung back, holding onto the branch with one hand and only the bracing of his knees to keep him seated. The black paint on his hands and neck glistened, a fresh coating that had just been applied before meeting up with Josh in the woods. "Tyler, please come down."

"What should it matter if I fall and die?" Tyler hissed, standing up unsteadily on the branch. He leaned slightly against the tapering trunk but even a gust of wind could knock the scrawny boy off. Josh gasped, reaching out as Tyler swayed, mere inches away from plummeting to the forest leaves below.

"Tyler, Ty, Tyler, I want you to stay alive, please. I can't make the band on my own, it wouldn't be Twenty One Pilots without you. You're my co-pilot, remember?" Josh had tears in his eyes, fingers curling hopelessly around the cold air. Tyler looked at Josh skeptically but only proceeded to grip the trunk tightly and haul himself to the last stable branch that the tree had to offer him.

"You can fly it yourself. You have Misty-Eyed to help you. And I have Blurry to help me do this." Josh shrieked when Tyler leaned back as far as he could go, tilting the top of the tree as, eyes closed, he swayed back and forth as though he had no bones, graceful in his mindless delusion. Josh couldn't take it anymore and took a deep breath, stepping out onto the sturdy branch next to the window of the treehouse. He was nervous about climbing, couldn't do it like Tyler could, but he was strong and if his best friend was in danger, he was going to help.

Tyler opened his eyes when Josh began to shake the tree with his climbing, branches bending and creaking under his weight. He wasn't as slight as Tyler and couldn't go as high, not to mention his quick, anxiety fueled breaths and trembles didn't help his focus. He had to stop when he was about ten feet below Tyler, unable to summon up the courage to climb any farther. "Tyler, Blurry, whoever you are right now please come down. Please."

"I answer to both..." Tyler paused and started to hum thoughtfully, a soft tune that Josh barely recognise as the wind swept the notes away. "Joshua Dun. Mr. Misty-Eyed."

"Yeah," Josh swallowed, watching as Tyler sank down into a sitting position, still carelessly swinging his feet as though he had nothing to fear. "That's me. And I'm trying to help you take back your hands and voice. You're not a goner, and I can prove it to you. Give me a chance."

"A chance," Tyler echoed, voice cavern-cold. He breathed in slowly, then exhaled, closing his eyes like the motion had extinguished the last fighting flame in his chest. The clouded breath curled around his face, distorting it in the split second that it lingered. "Funny how you're not the one who needs this chance."

"What?" The breeze picked up, sending dead leaves skittering along the ground. Sharp gusts of wind swayed the unsteady top of the maple and Josh clung to his branch with fear, gasping as he was barely able to keep his balance. Tyler rocked back and forth with the tree, easily sliding into his element amongst the bark and the frozen air. Marshmallow clouds were moving in on the horizon, marring the pale sky with tears in its purity, making scars and patterns across its surface. It was a perfect winter day, but not for this, never for this.

"Joshua, go back to the treehouse. I'll follow you," Tyler ordered, this time sounding more like himself. Josh hoped that his best friend was going to listen to him, but all he could do was not and carefully swing himself back down to the little box house, made from spare, splintered wood and crooked nails. He slid back through the window, sighing in relief as his feet touched down safely on the floor. Tyler appeared just seconds after, but instead of coming in, hung outside of the window, leaning into the treehouse with a shadowed gaze. His eyes never stopped moving, always looking around for something that Josh could never see. He was never able to find what he was seeking, but that never stopped him from looking.

"Fame and success isn't all it's cut out to be. Our music isn't for fans anymore, it's for everybody," voice heavy with disappointment, Tyler punctuated his statement with a sad, drawn out sigh. "It's not reaching the right people anymore. It's reaching those that use us for our popularity, not our words."

"There are still people out there who need your words, Ty. They need you to speak for them, give them hope," Josh pleaded, anxiety growing as he considered the possibilities of where this was leading.

"But I can't save them all!" Tyler half-shouted, eyebrows furrowing in anger. "I'm supposed to be able to help people, give them a safe community, but now there are too many assholes taking away what belongs to the people that need it! And I can't -" Tyler tripped over his words and choked slightly, leaning back without trying to regain his balance. Josh tensed, ready to rush forwards when he noticed Tyler's hands start to slip. "I don't have the energy for all of them. They're supposed to be my friends but I don't know who to trust anymore." Tyler slumped back, defeated.

"Ty, you can trust me," Josh reached out, gripping Tyler's wrists to keep him from falling. "No matter how many people listen to your music, I still need those words, I still need your voice. I need you to be there for me, we both need each other."

"Josh," Tyler shook his head, but used Josh's grip on his wrist to pull himself closer to his best friend, closer towards safety. Josh's breath hitched and hope began to bloom that this was the end of the episode, that the tsunami of thoughts that had been crashing down on Tyler was beginning to recede.

Tyler leaned close and chastely kissed Josh's lips, soft and sweet, just like Josh had always thought Tyler would be. Josh's hands lifted from Tyler's thin wrists in shock, and the younger pulled away slightly, letting a sigh ghost past his lips and onto Josh's. Then, the freezing air was rushing between them as Tyler fell back, wind clutching at his skeleton hoodie and pulling at the holes littered across it, carrying him away from Josh, from safety, from his future.

Maybe Josh screamed.

The whistling in his ears was too loud for him to tell. The warm hands that just a few seconds ago were beneath his now lay forty five feet below the treehouse, blood pooling over the lightly tanned skin. Josh didn't remember how he got down or how long it took him, but he knelt beside Tyler, desperately looking for a sign of life. A faint breath, a flutter of eyelashes, _anything._

Nothing.

Within the trees there was silence, a man too shocked to cry and his best friend, too broken to let the world hear his voice ever again.

**Author's Note:**

> I'm not sure what to say for this. I saw their concert two days ago and I just wanted to write this, and even though it was beautiful getting to see them, the only emotion I know anymore is sad, so that's why this is how it is.  
> I might end my life tonight so this was a vent for me, maybe to not feel so alone, maybe to get out the emotion that I've lost.  
> I hope this story made you feel something.


End file.
